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Normally, we visit NYC in the fall but we wanted to see The Best Man which has a limited run. So, we decided to go for a short visit.

At the end of each day, I'll list websites for the places we visited. Since I will no longer leave restaurant reviews on TA, at the end of this TR, I'll tell you how to view my reviews, if you are interested.

We took the 1 p.m Acela up to NYC. When booking our tickets, we noticed that for some reason, the 1 p.m. train was cheaper than the noontime one...

The train arrived on time and we walked up to what is becoming our "usual" hotel, The Marriott Courtyard ManhattanTimes Square South. Sure, there are cheaper places to stay but my husband has come to really like this hotel. I must admit that I like it, too, for a few reasons.

After settling in, we headed out for dinner at the Second Avenue Deli. It has become a tradition for us to have our first meal in NYC there. Before leaving the hotel, I told my husband to "pick his poison" when it came to traveling there. Since it was rush hour, did he want to take the local train (6 train) to 77th Street or did he want to take the express train (4 or 5) to 86th? Taking the express meant a faster ride but more walking. He chose the express train.

We've come to like the UES location of the Second Avenue Deli as opposed to the Murray Hill location. The UES one is a little bigger and less crowded. In fact, we noticed that most of the business they got was people buying large take-out orders. As usual, we had a delicious and filling meal. On the way back, we opted for the local train. We got off at GCT and got some cupcakes at Baked by Melissa. I noticed that they now offer a "flavor of the month". This month, it was "wedding cake" --- a vanilla cake with a Bavarian creme filling, which was quite good.

After resting for a while back at the hotel, we decided to go to Cleopatra's Needle, even though it was "open mic" night. The performers did a decent job (thankfully LOL!). On the way back, we still had some energy so we walked to 72nd Street to take the subway back to TS.

We started the day by taking the A train to 125th Street, then walking to Kitchenette Uptown for breakfast. It was a bit of a walk but worth it for a good, filling breakfast.

Next, we took the train down to Chelsea, where we stopped at Billy's Bakery and Blossom Bakery. The cupcakes from Billy's Bakery were for our evening snack while the Blossom Bakery cupcakes were brought home.

We took our purchases back to the hotel and rested up a bit. Then we headed to GCT to visit the Transit Museum Store to buy souvenirs. After that, we went back to the hotel.

Dinner this night was at 5 Napkin Burger in Hell's Kitchen. One reason we chose this place for dinner was that it was a short walk away from the theater where The Best Man was playing. On the way to dinner, it started to rain. Fortunately, the worst of the rain happened while we were eating. The burger at 5 Napkin was okay---not the best we've had, yet not the worst.

We still had some time to kill before the play began at 7 p.m. so we went to another souvenir store and found a 2013 calendar of NYC. By then, it was time to line up for the play.

As for the play--- What an incredible cast! James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, Candice Bergen, John Larroquette, Eric McCormick, Donna Hanover and Dakin Matthews---to name but a few. All gave great performances and I found myself engrossed in the play. At the beginning of the play, John Larroquette and a group of "reporters" walked right down the aisle right by where we were seated, then got on stage---that was a surprise beginning LOL! This play is well worth seeing. In fact, it's been extended through early September. However, the cast is changing during the first week of July.

Today, we started out with breakfast at NoHo Star. We've come to enjoy having one breakfast here during our trips.

After that, we headed to Butter Lane to buy cupcakes for later in the evening. The young woman at the counter had a T-shirt with my alma mater on it so we ended up having a nice conversation.

Next, we went to the Essex Market for a stop at Saxelby's Cheesemonger where we got about a pound of Landaff Cheese to take home with us.

Once done with shopping, we brought our purchases back to the hotel and rested for a while. We then decided to check out Roosevelt Island. To get there, we took the F train. When we got off the train, we noticed everybody else take the elevator. Hmmm...do they know something that we don't know? Well...the station is deep underground and getting out involves riding more than one escalator. At least there are escalators that are working and protected from the elements. I wish I could say that was the case at every Metro station in the DC area!

We sat by the waterfront for a while enjoying the Manhattan views and took a few photos. I walked to the southern tip of the Island and took in the view of the Queens side. The smallpox sanitarium is now closed off as it is being renovated with the intention of turning it into a historical attraction.

We took the tram back to Manhattan. My husband was marveling at how great it was to be able to use our Metrocard to ride a tram. The views from the tram are spectacular. It leaves you on 2nd Avenue between 59th and 60th where it is a short walk to 6 subway lines at 59th and Lexington.

One destination mentioned in this post

Thank you SueFee for a great trip report! The cast sounds incredible! I was talking with my father recently and he was surprised that John Laroquette was playing so much on Broadway. People see him as a sitcom actor, but he is first of all a great Broadway actor. The replacement cast will have big shoes to fill, especially Angela Lansbury's.....

We started the day with breakfast at the Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Company in Chelsea. Let's just say that Ess-a-Bagel is far, far better...

Then we took the F train out to Park Slope to visit Ladybird Bakery and walk around a bit. We didn't get to Prospect Park---yet some more unfinished business for another trip. At Ladybird, we picked up some cupcakes for later in the evening. Of all the new cupcakes we tried this trip, Ladybird's were our favorites.

We went back to the hotel for a while, then decided to visit Bryant Park. While there, we got something to drink and sat for a while taking in the scenery.

Dinner this night was at Buenos Aires. One reason we chose this restaurant was that it was near the theater where Silence! The Musical was playing. We had a great meal at Buenos Aires and would gladly go back there again. We arrived at the theater early and ended up sitting near the table where play souvenirs were being sold. Not only did we buy some souvenirs but we had a nice chat with the woman who was selling them. She ended up name-dropping when it came to listing celebs who have seen the play.

Yes, the play was filled with dark, raunchy humor. It was very well performed. At one point in the play, Buffalo Bill throws Twinkies at Catherine to lure her in. Then, next thing we all knew, twinkies were being thrown into the audience. I managed to have one hit my leg and bounce on the floor next to me LOL! My husband joked that we should take it home and bronze it. In the end, we both enjoyed this play.

Time to go home :( The Courtyard is undergoing renovations on their breakfast area. They are doing away with the standard buffett and switching to a "bistro" breakfast area. We've seen this at another Courtyard and actually think it works better than the buffett. In the interim, a free continental breakfast is being offered. My husband went down the the lower level where it is and brought back some pastries and yogurt. That was our breakfast. We both didn't feel up to venturing out to find breakfast.

We got to Penn Station only to hear that there were going to be delays on the Northeast corridor south of Philadelphia due to a broken electrical cable on a bridge north of Baltimore. When the break occured, they were using diesel engines to pull trains over the bridge. When we got on the train, we were warned that there could be delays from 1 to 3 hours, at which point a woman sitting near us gasped.

We got into DC an hour late and by the time we reached the bridge, the broken cable apparently was fixed because we weren't hooked up to a diesel engine. However, the train had to travel verrry slowly in that area.

Union station was a zoo---not only due to all those delayed trains but also it was the weekend that 200,000 girl scouts descended on DC and were now trying to go home. I never was so glad to get out of Union Station LOL! That said, this was the first time in many years that we've arrived so late when using Amtrak.

Now, if anyone is interested in reading my restaurant reviews and seeing some food photos, my reviews can be found here: